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Bands Battle It Out In EA's 'Burnout' Bandslam

EA, and MySpace have announced an international search for the hottest new bands in the United States and Europe, in collaboration with Virgin Records and Epiphone. One U.S. and one European winner get a demo recording contract and track featured on future Burnout videogame

Burnout Bandslam offers unsigned bands from across the United States and Europe the chance to showcase their best track in front of a potential global audience of over 80 million MySpace users, all of whom will be able to vote for their favorite track online.

The winning bands – one each from the United States and Europe - will each receive a Virgin Records demo recording contract and a chance to have their song included in a future Burnout videogame. One runner-up band from each country will become the proud owners of one top-of-the-range Epiphone Les Paul Custom Guitar*.

“Many of the biggest bands around the world have been first discovered through EA videogames, and now we are expanding the opportunity to unsigned bands through this year’s Burnout Bandslam,” says Steve Schnur, worldwide executive of music and marketing for EA. “The Burnout videogame series is all about attitude and rebellion. So I look forward to discovering a band or two which fits that definition.”

“MySpace is dedicated to providing musicians around the globe the ability to share their music and connect with fans online,” said Shawn Gold, SVP of Marketing, MySpace. “This partnership is part of our ongoing efforts to provide creative and passionate artists with a platform to be seen, heard, and connect online in order to get to the next level.”

"EA has consistently broadened the lanes where music and interactive gaming intersect, and has proven that video games are a rich platform for the discovery and enjoyment of new and established artists, so a collaboration between Virgin and EA has great logic," noted Jeff Kempler, COO, Capitol Music Group. "Partnering with EA in this exciting artist discovery and development contest is a perfect fit for Virgin's dedication to innovative and expansive interaction with creative talent and music fans wherever they may be."

"Epiphone is proud to be involved and associated with this year’s Burnout Bandslam and the game Burnout™ Dominator. Music, talent and excitement are all part of the Epiphone tradition and makes our partnership the perfect fit,” said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO Gibson Guitar, Epiphone’s parent company.

The Burnout videogame series is developed by EA’s Criterion Games studio and is one of the most acclaimed racing videogame franchises of all time. Burnout Dominator is currently in development for the PS2 and PSP, due for release in March 2007.